


Nightmares

by Estelle14



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, These boys are in love, happy bithday wolfie, i may have cried while writing this, no beta we burn like Cintra, this is mainly some good comfort though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29512683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estelle14/pseuds/Estelle14
Summary: "They had been sleeping for a couple of hours when he heard it. A soft whimper, so soft, he thought he was imagining it at first. Then he heard it again, stronger this time. Jaskier woke up slowly, and the realization struck him. The sound was coming from Geralt. Frowning, he turned around and found the witcher curling around himself, face scrunched up, jaw tight, eyes closed, and a trail of fresh tears on his cheeks. A nightmare, Jaskier thought gaping."Geralt slowly starts opening up to Jaskier after the latter helps him go through a series of nightmares that starts to haunt his nights.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 10
Kudos: 113





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JaskiersWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaskiersWolf/gifts).



> Hope that you guys enjoy this, I worked hard on this one!!

It was a night just like any other night, they had set camp earlier than usual, with Geralt claiming that he was tired. Jaskier should have known then that something was not right, instead, he had been quite relieved as they had been on the road for hours. In fact, when thinking back about it, Geralt had been grumpier than usual for the whole day.  
They had been sleeping for a couple of hours when he heard it. A soft whimper, so soft, he thought he was imagining it at first. Then he heard it again, stronger this time. Jaskier woke up slowly, and the realization struck him. The sound was coming from Geralt. Frowning, he turned around and found the witcher curling around himself, face scrunched up, jaw tight, eyes closed, and a trail of fresh tears on his cheeks. A nightmare, Jaskier thought gaping. He did not know what to do. It was the first time he was seeing the witcher looking this vulnerable. He could not just wake him up, he knew that Geralt would feel embarrassed about it. 

“No, please…” the witcher whispered as a sob escaped from his lips.

This was when Jaskier decided to wake him up anyway. He could not just watch as his witcher was clearly in pain. He got closer to Geralt and gently shook his shoulders.

“Geralt? It’s Jaskier,” he said lightly.

However, it felt as if the witcher did not hear him. A choked-up sound came from his throat and Geralt’s body shook under a series of sobs, begging for whoever was in his nightmare to stop hurting him. Jaskier could feel his eyes filling up with tears. He blinked not allowing them to fall, Geralt would know if he did, and it would only make him more embarrassed.

“Geralt please wake up. It’s just a nightmare,” he said just a little louder, but to no avail, “Geralt!”

It was then that the witcher woke up, panting. He looked around frantically, eyes unfocused, searching for danger. Jaskier leaned back a little, giving space to the witcher. 

“What? What is going on?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Hey, it is fine, you are safe now,” Jaskier whispered, trying to calm the witcher down.

“Jaskier?”

“Yes, it’s Jaskier and it was just a nightmare. We are in our camp together and Roach is just a couple of meters away from us. You are safe, Geralt.”

Geralt frowned and looked around, his eyes went to the fire before them, to Roach and to the forest, before going back on the bard. Jaskier could pinpoint the exact moment Geralt realised what had happened. His eyes widened a little before he exhaled slowly and closed them. When he opened them again, gone was the hurt or the vulnerability, he was as his usual self again. Unreadable and stoic.

“I-” he started, but Jaskier cut him off.

"It’s okay Geralt," the bard said, “You don’t have to tell me. We can do as if nothing happened if you want to.”

Geralt tilted his head a little and stared at him for a moment. Jaskier could feel a slight blush coming up his cheeks under the witcher’s amber eyes. The bard cleared his throat nervously and looked away.

“Do you want a cup of tea?” he blurted out, unable to stand the silence.

“Tea?” Geralt asked.

“Yes, my mother always made us tea when we had bad dreams,” the bard explained, “She said that it was a good remedy to soothe the soul. I have some tea leaves in my bags from my last trip to Lettenhove, so it might help.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.”

Jaskier did not know what Geralt had dreamed about, he did not know what was going on in his head right now, or the horrors that he had lived. He knew that it must have been painful though, he could still hear the sobs coming from the witcher in his sleep, and the tears going down his cheeks as he softly pleaded for mercy. He knew that he could not make the pain go away, or make Geralt forget about it, but he not could just sit there and not do anything. 

“We can stay here in silence if you want, I won’t talk. But please, let me make you some tea. Let me do something, to help… or at least try to,” Jaskier offered.

Geralt frowned before nodding slowly. The bard got up and went to their bags where he found a pot and the witcher’s mug. Jaskier could feel amber eyes following him around, but he did not let it affect him and looked for the tea leaves in his own sack.

When he went back to Geralt with the mug, the witcher took it without saying a word. In fact, he had not said anything at all for the past couple of minutes. The witcher’s eyes were glued to the campfire and he looked lost in thoughts as the bard sat next to him. It meant that he had not yet recovered and needed more time. It’s okay, I can give him that, quiet comfort, Jaskier thought. So they sat there in silence, for hours. The bard did not remember falling asleep.  
When he woke up the next morning, the sun was already up. Breakfast was ready, the fire was out, most of their bags were already packed up and his lute was safely tucked on Roach. Usually, Geralt would have already woken him up, so it was a pleasant surprise when the witcher came and told him to eat and wash up because they were going to leave. Jaskier did not say anything about it though and nodded as a smile spread on his face. He knew that Geralt was just thanking him for the night before and it was fine, he understood. He knew his witcher by now.

~~~~

It became a usual occurrence. For the next weeks to come, more nightmares would haunt Geralt’s nights. When it happened Jaskier would make him tea and sit there with him in silence until Geralt felt better. Sometimes he would even hold his hand when the witcher’s eyes would still be unfocused when his mind had not come back yet, and he needed something to hold on to. Something that would remind him that he was here, not there, that he was safe. The first time it happened, Geralt was the one to reach out, griping on to Jaskier’s hand as if it was his safe line. The bard was surprised, he always gave space to the witcher during those times, and avoided touching him without his permission. Therefore, when Geralt slipped his hand into his and held onto it tightly, Jaskier did not know how to react. The witcher avoided his gaze but did not let go, so the bard had smiled and squeezed his hand, letting him know that it was okay.

It was one of these nights. Geralt and Jaskier had been sitting together for an hour now, hand in hand. An empty cup of tea could be found beside the witcher as they sat there looking at the small campfire before them. It was a cold night, so they were pressed close to each other, finding comfort in the other’s warmth. Jaskier’s eyes were getting heavy with sleep, the only thing keeping him awake was Geralt’s hand in his.

“It’s the trials,” he heard after a moment.

The tone was so low, that Jaskier thought that he had dreamed about it. He turned his head towards Geralt and frowned.

“What?” he asked.

“The nightmares. They are about the trials,” the witcher answered.

“Oh.”

The trials. Jaskier had heard about them in the stories made to scare little boys into behaving properly. First came the training, then the potions and the mutations. It was rumored to be excruciatingly painful, and he knew that Geralt went through additional ones, hence his unusual hair colour.

“Every year, when the anniversary approaches, the memories of it come back. I just thought that you had to know” the witcher added after a moment.

“You don’t have to tell me though, Dear heart, it’s okay,” Jaskier replied.

He knew that Geralt was a private man. He did not want him to think that he was helping him just for some pieces of information for a new song.

“I want to,” Geralt assured.

So, Jaskier nodded, before gently squeezing the witcher’s hand. If he needs to talk about it, then I will listen, he thought.

“I can see the other boys there,” Geralt began, “They had warned us not to make friends but we were kids, we...we did not think that… well, not all of us survived. Those who did were never the same... The things they did to us, the pain. I can still feel it even now, after so many years.”

Geralt’s voice was low and trembling. He looked vulnerable. It was the first time Jaskier was seeing him this way while he was awake. The hand that was not holding Jaskier’s was griping the blanket that was protecting the witcher from the cold. A series of goosebumps went through his body as the memories of the trials and his nightmares came back to him. Jaskier felt a tightness in his throat. He would give anything to make Geralt feel better. His eyes burned with fury and sadness for the man beside him, he did not deserve all of this.

“Sometimes my mother is there too,” the witcher’s voice broke.

Jaskier froze as he turned towards Geralt. He usually never spoke of his mother. Holding his breath, the bard realised that the witcher was silently crying beside him. His body was slightly shaking as fresh tears ran down his cheeks. Jaskier’s body hitched to get closer to the witcher, to hold him.

“I beg her to save me, to stop the pain, to take me home with her. But she doesn’t… instead, she leaves like she always does,” Geralt sobbed.

“Oh, Geralt. Can I hug you, please?” Jaskier whispered, not able to hold it in anymore.

Geralt turned to face the bard, not even trying to hide his tears. He blinked then nodded slowly. Jaskier gently put his arms around the witcher and pulled him close. Geralt buried his face in the crook of the bard’s neck not knowing what to do for a long time. He did not remember the last time someone willingly held him this close to them and he did not want to scare Jaskier away. After a couple of seconds though, his arms slid around the bard’s waist and he pulled him closer as fresh tears ran down his face. He could smell a vague hint of salt water coming from his companion too, so he held onto him and squeezed him just enough for the bard to know that he was okay and that he was helping.

Jaskier did not remember when they had lied down or when they had fallen asleep, but when he woke up, the sun was slowly rising and Geralt’s arms were still around him. Their bodies were pressed together and Jaskier’s head was on the witcher’s chest. The bard gently rose up and looked at Geralt. His eyes were still closed, his lips slightly parted and his white hair was gracefully framing his face, as the first rays of the sun were softly grazing his skin. He is beautiful, Jaskier thought. The moments where he could watch Geralt sleep peacefully were rare. Most of the time, the witcher was always the first one to wake up and pack their bags. At night, he would sleep after Jaskier, so seeing him like this was pleasing. The fact that he had not woken up yet meant that he was deeply asleep.  
If only it could always be like this, Jaskier thought, I want him to be happy, and I want to be here to witness it. I will stay and try to make the pain go away, as long as he wants me to.  
He smiled and decided that they would sleep in late today, he did not have the heart to wake up the witcher. Melitele knows that the man needed some rest. So he put his head on the witcher’s chest again and closed his eyes, loving how close they were to each other. He would not mind always waking up like this, in Geralt’s arms and....oh. Awareness of his feelings for the witcher washed over him.

Oh well... how could I not love him?

~~~~~

The scent of blood was filling his nose, so much that he thought he might choke on it. He could also feel the metallic taste of it on his tongue. Inhuman screeches could be heard in the distance, grunts, the sound of flesh and blades colliding. Breathing felt like he was getting stabbed and his eyes were burning, but he did not care. All that mattered was finding Geralt and making sure that he was safe. Please, please let him be safe...

“Jaskier, wake up!”

Jaskier gasped as he opened his eyes. He found Geralt in front of him, concern filling his eyes.

“It was only a nightmare, you are safe now,” the witcher whispered, before placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jaskier took a deep breath and tried to calm his heartbeats. They were safe, both of them. They were in their camp, and Roach was here. They were fine.

“Do you want some tea?” Geralt asked him after a moment, “it soothes the soul apparently.”

Jaskier looked up to him and chuckled, before nodding.

“Yeah, I’d love it,” he replied.

The witcher smiled softly before getting up and going towards their bags. After putting a pot of water over the fire he came back to the bard, whose cornflower blue eyes were fixed on the campfire.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“It was the last hunt,” Jaskier replied.

It had been a couple of weeks ago. It was supposed to be a usual contract, Jaskier had stayed in the inn to gain some coins while Geralt was gone hunting. He was sitting at the bar and conversing with the innkeeper when he heard it. Some men bragging that they had lied and fooled the witcher so that they could pay less. It was not a solitary cockatrice that could be found in the swamp caves, but a whole nest of it. Jaskier had left his lute in their room and ran out as fast as he could, hoping that he was not late. Even now he could feel the gripping fear that had seized his body at the thought that something might have happened to the witcher.  
He was right in his decision to go to Geralt as when he got there, the latter was outnumbered and badly wounded. Jaskier had screamed, as loud as he could to get the monsters’ attention and give Geralt time. They both ended up getting injured, but fortunately, they were still alive. They went back to town, got the coins Geralt deserved, and left.

For weeks after that Jaskier had refused to let Geralt take on another contract and always kept him near. He had played in an inn for several days and had got them enough coins to last for weeks. It was running low though, so tomorrow they were heading to town, where it was rumoured that the alderman was in need of a witcher. Jaskier sighed knowing that this was the reason why he had got a nightmare. 

“I am sorry,” Geralt said, breaking the silence between them.

“What for?” the bard asked, frowning.

There was no reason for the witcher to be apologizing to him. It was not his fault that humans were the lying and dishonest sort. On the contrary, he had been the one risking his life.

“If you weren’t traveling with me, you would not have got hurt,” Geralt continued, “This is all my fault. If you want to leave-”

“Geralt, you silly witcher, do you really think that I had a nightmare because I was hurt by a cockatrice?” Jaskier said softly, “I knew that it would have happened one day. I know the risks of walking the path with you, and I don’t care.’

He watched as the witcher frowned at him, as if not believing his words. 

“Do you know how scared I was when I thought that something might have happened to you?” the bard asked, “That you could’ve been dead somewhere alone. I could’ve lost you Geralt. I can’t lose you-”

Jaskier’s voice broke as fresh tears ran down his face. Geralt reached up to brushed them off gently with his thumb. Without thinking, the bard took the witcher’s hand and placed a soft kiss on his inner wrist. He heard Geralt’s breath hitch and realised what he had done. The bard let go of the witcher’s hand and gulped nervously.

“I...I am sorry,” he stuttered, “I shouldn’t have hmmppfff-”

Without any warning, Geralt pressed his mouth onto Jaskier’s. The bard froze for a second not realising what was happening before he slid his arms around the witcher and pulled him closer. The kiss was long and slow. Geralt’s hands went to the back of the bard’s neck as the latter was gripping his shirt tightly. He began pulling on Jaskier’s hair, loving the way it made the bard moan against his lips. 

They broke the kiss when they heard the sound of boiling water on the fire. They sat there panting under the moonlight, not letting go of each other just yet. Jaskier’s hand went under Geralt’s shirt, going over the skin on his back. The witcher sighed as he nuzzled the bard’s neck.

“You realise that there is a pot of water over the fire right,” Jaskier stated as he leaned his head, giving Geralt more access to him.

“Hmm,” the witcher responded, before placing small kisses on the bard’s jaw. 

A series of giggles took hold of Jaskier as he realised that Geralt had no intention of letting him go, which meant that tea would have to wait. He did not care though, he may have found another remedy to soothe his soul, one which was much better than a cup of tea.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are most welcomed. Hope that you guys liked it and if you want to say hi, I am @moonysourenza on Tumblr.


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